How To Lower Your Hotwheels Diecast Cars

Today We’re Taking it Low n’ Slow

This post was originally going to be a how to lower and stance your hotwheels guide but I have decided to separate the two to keep things simpler for everyone. You can find the other article here: How To Stance Your Hotwheels.

Now let’s get down to business…

The first method is how I have always lowered my car (if I am not stancing them that is) and although it is an effective method, the second way of lowering a diecast car that I will be sharing comes from a customising mate and valued member of our group [Mark Aue] . Now Mark’s method is better than my own and as such I will be employing his way from now on. I am still sharing my original method as some people may prefer this way, and hey information is power right 😉

How to Lower a Hot Wheels – Method 1

Next up you need to do is lift up the tabs that are holding the axle down. To do this I personally use a small flathead screwdriver (about 2mm in width) and simply prop the tabs up until the axle falls out. (as pictured)

The next thing you will need to check is whether the base of the car needs to be cut away to accomodate the lower stance it will soon have. In this example I am using a Plymouth Superbird and as such will definitely need to remove some of the excess plastic from the base.

The interior that holds the wheels down now needs to be cut so as to allow the axles to sit higher in the base. If we leave the interior as is then it will force the wheel back down to where they were when we started.

Now we are ready to place the wheels back on. To do this I bend the axle clips back together so they are almost touching and then I rest the axle ON TOP of the clips. It’s surprisingly easy to get the clips to sit just far enough apart so that they hold the axle in a pinch like grip.

you can see how the axle is now sitting a couple of mm’s higher than before

Now find something to rest the car on so that it sits completely level and the wheels are sitting freely. And make sure the axles are perfectly perpendicular to the vehicle. (that means make sure they are straight :p )

Make sure the base is completely level and the wheels are resting freely (and straight!)

Now for the part that makes the customiser in me whince – superglue.

I cannot stress enough the fact that superglue is NOT YOUR FRIEND when it comes to customising diecast cars and as such you need to use very (very very) sparingly.

To set the wheels in place I apply the smallest drop to the centre of the axle. The glue will fall into the gaps between the axle clips and so long as your vehicle is level and straight, the glue will go no further.

Use too much and it will run down the axles and prevent the wheels from turning.

Use too little and…. you can’t use too little. The glue only needs to hold the axles in place while you work on the car and turn it over etc. Once it is back together the interior will hold the wheels in place and the clips (now superglued together) will prevent the axles from falling back down into their original channel.

The end result:

Plymouth Superbird Taking Things Low n’ Slow

How to Lower Your Hot Wheels – Method 2

Before we start, MASSIVE SHOUT OUT to Mark Aue for sharing this with me and allowing me to share it here. Show your love for this man by joining his Facebook Group – Marx Hotwheels Workshop and be sure to follow him on Instagram @markhsv13

I really like Mark’s method mainly because it does not involve superglue. WINNING.

Take it away Mark.

First. Grab the car you want to lower. I liked this one so it will do….

Pull the wheels from the chassis.Careful not to bend axels if you are using them again….

Now you will need to cut some of the base away to make room for the wheels. Here (above image) Ii have put notches into the chassis where i am going to cut away… not too far or its going in the rubbish

This is the interior plate. You will need to cut away the excess plastic in the arches above where the wheels sit so they are not stopping the wheels from rolling…..

Pic of the excess cutaway…..

Now we are going to put small notches (holes) in the part of the base that previously held the wheels down. The idea being that we are going to use this section of the car to hold the wheels in place.

When you notch the base just do a bit at a time…too low and the wheels will rub on the metal when put back together. Be patient and cut the notch as low as you want it….note…these are the original wheels and axels (This is the chassis after it has been notched. I used a dremel and file to clean it up)

You can see how the interior plate is now doing the job of holding the axles in place.

On this casting it was raised in the front quite a bit so had to file the base to get wheel clearance and rollability…also shaved a little bit in the rear too….

This is how it sits now with it back together.

Here it is with the lowering job all done. Looks much better and it rolls mint….

The world is now your oyster for wheel choice. I used these ones from a donor i had laying around. This is not the be all end all way of lowering a car its just a way i have come up with. Please bear in mind i have been customizing now for about 7-8 months….

Here it is back in the blister… Hope this helps you guys out.

There you have it, two methods – 1 clearly better (nice one Mark) on how to lower your hot wheels or diecast cars.

Of course, another method of lowering your hotwheels which is oh so hellasweet and JDM (yo) is to stance your car. I have just finished writing this guide up and you can find it HERE

Keep on Customizing!

And remember to subscribe for more How To guides and customising tips like these.

Comments

comments

4 Comments

maurice on 21/01/2016 at 4:59 am

the work with the superbird is ok but it`s not completely true. Those wheels are to thick to fit inside just like that. You need to remove plastic not only from the base, the sides where you place axles too